


A Dance to Set Us Free

by Callianeira



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrinette, F/M, I love them all, Identity Reveal, It hurts guys, Ladynoir | Adrien Agreste as Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng as Ladybug, Love, Miraculous Ladybug Love Square, Pain, Spoilers, THERE ARE SEASON 3 FINALE SPOILERS, Tears, You Have Been Warned, but these two give me life, kiss, miraculous musical, songs from the musical, the ship needs time to repair
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-16
Updated: 2019-10-16
Packaged: 2020-12-17 15:49:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21056954
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Callianeira/pseuds/Callianeira
Summary: I loved you...And I loved you.Without knowing that behind the mask...Was the most precious thing I had.This is my take on the identity reveal between our beloved heroes. There are spoilers for Miracle Queen inside so don't read if you haven't seen it!





	A Dance to Set Us Free

**Author's Note:**

> After defeating Hawkmoth (Adrien has yet to discover that it was Gabe) Ladybug takes the decision to quit being a guardian. Chat has been thinking about revealing himself to her since she'll forget everything after she passes the miracle box to another person. Regretful about all the things that happened between him and the people he cared about the most he transforms and searches for Ladybug. What happens then will change their lives forever.
> 
> So this is something I came up with as I listened to David Russell's In the Rain (umbrella scene song!). The scene just popped into my mind and I had to write it as fast as possible! This is after season 3 so be warned that there are some spoilers from Miracle Queen (last warning). Excuse any mistakes because I wrote this on my phone. I just needed to get it out there! Enjoy!
> 
> Edit: To those who left kudos, I LOVE YOU 3000!

_Paris is wonderful at night... _The view of the bright lights showering the tower of dreams and hopes made Adrien lose himself into his own thoughts.

Every little light, every little soul... He felt proud of being one of the reasons that those lights kept glistening under the starry Parisian sky.

And everything had led up to this moment. 

Two years ago, the almighty Master Fu had chosen him to be the protector of the cat miraculous. Adrien hadn't regretted a single moment of it. Chat Noir wasn't a persona; it was his entire life, the only moment people stopped seeing him as his father's son or The Adrien Agreste, supermodel, heartbreaker.

He had fought for what he believed alongside... her.

The memory of their first meeting was still lingering. After all this time. After that great wall that they had risen to protect each other and, ultimately, themselves.

That wall... he was the first to put the first stone and she was the one that allowed him to keep building it.

"Are you going to tear up, Adrien?" The same voice asked him.

Adrien cracked a little smile, trying to contain himself. "Did they run out of cheese already, Plagg?"

The mischievous cat liked the little pieces of parmesan from its tiny hands with a grin.

"If you ask me, there's never enough in these cheesy events!"

"I guess you're right." Adrien breathed in the first cold autumn air of September. It was the same as the first day Plagg and he had met. A life-turning meeting that he would remember for the rest of his life.

"Why aren't you inside with your friends? There are a lot of types of cheese in there to hang out."

"Nah..." Adrien signed placing his hands on the cold railing. He didn't mind, though. "I needed a moment to... collect my thoughts and all."

"Did you see that dragon girl inside?"

"You mean Kagami?" A little smile formed on his lips. "I did. She's looking beautiful tonight. Her date is a very lucky man."

"I guess birds of a feather, flock together." Plagg took a moment to look towards the noisy hall. "Isn't that bothering you at all?"

"Bother me? No. Kagami and I had our moments." A little flash of memory made him chuckle. His hesitation was the only thing she hated about him. She was brave enough to tell him that. She was always such a powerful woman.

"After all, our friendship is something we both cherished more. It was best for both of us. I'm happy she is finally with someone who took the leap without thinking."

"Maybe I should transform you into Chat Noir again. That guy never hesitates!"

Adrien chuckled, again. His mint-coloured eyes sparkling with a kind of sincerity the kwami had never seen.

"Life..." He murmured looking far away recalling things that would eventually make him tear up. "Life is a gift, Plagg. You never know what you'll find inside. But it's still a gift, wrapped in fancy and hard-to-untie ribbons, or in a plain wrap that you can tear up immediately and enjoy.

"Did the alcohol-free punch got you this time?" Plagg took a spin around his miraculous holder sitting right next to Adrien's piano fingers. "Wow! I wish sugar cube was here to see this. She always has a thing for the romantic."

"Sugar cube?" The name sounded familiar. Wasn't that... "Tikki?"

Plagg nodded. He didn't say anything else as he stared at the flashing lights.

Loss... who said that kwamis didn't feel it. They were fragile and sensitive as their human holders despite having tremendous power to conquer the whole world.

"You know..." Plagg's voice sounded weird to Adrien's ears. "I think you'd really make a good couple."

He took him by surprise. Those words... those words were the thing he shouldn't have heard tonight. Everyone was happy, dancing, eating and drinking but he had put up his best facade to hide the pain of not seeing her again.

As Adrien's eyes finally gave in, he felt his kwami leaning on his thumb, a drop of liquid landing on it without notice.

His fists gripped the metal as if his life depended on it. If he let go now, he wasn't sure if he would be able to come back alive.

"It hurts, Plagg..." A muffled noise fled his peachy lips. 

The kwami hugged his fist as tears rolled on it.

"I know." Plagg's voice broke. "But it'll go away. Cats can get over everything! Even squeeze into the most unsqueezable places!"

"I guess you're right." Adrien put himself together. He hoped that neither Nino nor the guys from his class would search for him. All he needed was to be left alone. Away from everything and everyone. He was so tired of being in the spotlight.

For one night... 

"I must tell her at least, Plagg. I owe her that." Plagg looked at him. Sometimes this teenage boy could be so confusing.

"Ladybug? I thought you said--"

"Not her..." Adrien's cheeks turned a nice shade of pink. "Marinette."

"Marinette?" Plagg flew to his shoulder worried about his next sentence.

"Yes. I finally need to tell Marinette that I'm sorry." Hurting her like that wasn't his intent. He never understood how that thing worked anyhow. 

"Are you sure, Adrien?" 

Adrien shrugged unable to think of something else but Marinette's face and rosy cheeks, her cute stuttering and...

His eyes looked at the sky automatically when the yellow disk finally made its appearance.

"If only the moon could tell me what to do to finally be happy, Plagg."

"Oh Adrien, at least you haven't lost your cheesiness!" Plagg gave him a little hug minding not the little bits of parmesan staining his black tie.

Somewhere out there, the answers he had been looking for were ready to be answered.

Despite what she’d said. Despite what she had told him to do. He wanted to see her for one last time.

What he needed to do was to be brave enough to face the truth and emerge stronger.

* * *

Darkness found her sitting on top of the Eiffel tower.

There was no-one up there at that time, making it the quietest place in Paris. Somewhere in the distance, her friends were holding their graduation ball.

She tried to picture it: Alya and Nino dancing together, Alix and Max trying to find a place to hide and play games, Ivan hugging Mylene. Even Chloe getting Sabrina to fetch her a drink calling the ball a lousy feast for children.

She wondered if they had thought about her.

Their clumsy little fellow student wasn't exactly a star as bright as Chloe to be missed. Or that was what she thought.

Clad in red and black, the moonlight found her listening to her favourite instrumental song. Everything made the perfect scene for the perfect moment. Yet there she was, all alone, the most important person in France sitting on top of the loneliest building in Paris.

She dared to close her eyes to get lost in the music. Thinking too much, that was her greatest flaw.

Things had turned out to be just fine. As Mater Fu had told her, she was the best Ladybug he could have ever chosen.

As perfect as that had sounded then, it felt a little bitter on her lips. Responsibility, as tough and difficult as it was had shaped her into the girl, no, the woman she had become.

The people of Paris came before everything else. Ladybug was for the people, not for herself.

_Stop thinking, stupid brain... _She tried to stop but the melancholy of the song only made it worse. As she pressed her eyes harder, her ears picked up a slight noise that made her reach for her yo-yo.

"Ladybug?" His voice made her open her eyes.

"Chat?" She stood up clumsily only to fall onto his chest. "I thought... You said---"

He couldn't believe his eyes and cat ears. 

Ladybug's voice broke into a million pieces. She could feel his warmth spreading on her torso as he squeezed her in his arms.

It was the longest moment in her entire life. Chat Noir was right in front of her. His hair was more untamed than ever, and his green cat eyes gave her the impression that they had turned into a mint river.

"I--" She pulled back looking for her phone.

"Huh?" Chat looked at her listening to the song he knew well. He had caught Marinette listening to it a thousand times. And it was perfect. Perfect for the occasion and perfect for the plan he had just crafted in his mind.

If that was the last night of everything, then he at least had to do what he never dared. That way, he would be able to move forward, knowing that she finally was aware of who he really was.

His hand caught hers carefully.

"For this occasion," The voice made Ladybug tremble. "Don't see me as Chat..." He felt his face getting hotter and the same happened to her. "For the first time, Ladybug… For the first time, I feel like we are so close that I can tell you everything about-"

"Shush!" Ladybug threw at his face. "They might- Haw--"

"No-one's around M'Lady. Don't worry about it. All I wanted was..." he tried to find the correct words. "A dance."

"My Chat..." Her voice broke him into a million pieces instead.

_My... _His heart raced faster than before. He couldn't tell what was driving him there... maybe the sincerity in her voice. The lack of annoyance from his annoying flirtations gave him courage.

_This... _he mustered the courage to think... _this is real..._

"Let's dance." She murmured thinking of the last time she had danced with somebody. The knife turned on her wound. A wound that was there and would be there until she finally stopped opening it up. "But this will be the last time for me..."

He suddenly felt her hands wrapping around his neck, her face buried in his shoulder instead of looking at him.

He followed her lead, wrapping his hands around her waist and holding his precious _friend_ in his hands.

At last, his wish had come true. It was all he ever wanted since meeting her. His partner, his precious Lady, his--

The realization made his heart skip a beat.

"I was glad to be part of your adventures, M'Lady." He whispered. "You were the only true thing. The only true friend I ever made and for that, M'Lady, I will always be grateful to you."

Her fingers grabbed the leather suit tighter trying to hold her tears back and take in as much as possible before forgetting everything about him. 

Ladybug was stepping down as the only guardian of the miraculous. Her heart, despite being fierce, couldn't take it all in. She had to take care of someone else. That little scared girl was her top priority now. She had to be happy. For everyone’s sake.

Marinette had to get back on her feet and shine.

Chat knew the price it had to be paid. It took time to take it all in but if it was her decision, then it must have been the right one for her.

"Thank you for standing with me against the world." He heard her murmur as her face shifted towards him.

The same bluebell eyes were sparkling in front of him. He wanted to hug her tighter, absorb her sadness and make her happy.

"Always." Chat brought his hands to her face wiping the tears falling on her rosy cheeks. Before the song finally stopped, she heard him whisper the two most important words in the whole world.

"Claws in..."

Her heart stopped and then started again, faster, almost ready to get ripped off her chest...

_What!?_

A flash of green made her close her eyes. She didn't know if she could open them, again.

"Ladybug..." His voice was softer as he talked to her. His hands felt soft, softer than everything she had ever touched. "I've been in love with you since the first day our eyes met... I might have told you that a million times already-" He tried not to succumb to his emotions. "Life, though, taught me that we sometimes lose what we want most. I gave up on you when I hit my lowest point. I don't regret it, though. Because that moment taught me that my feelings for you were real. I'm sorry for making you feel uncomfortable all this time. It wasn't my intent... I was... weak, my Lady. I'm sorry for putting you into trouble. I wish from the depths of my heart that you find happiness. Just--"

Fear reeked into her brain. Chat's voice... Was she really going to forget it after quitting?

"Let me show you my true self. If you are going to forget our adventures together, at least know that the person you called partner all this time was honest with you.

She couldn't take it, not after his confession and with eyes still shut, she found herself holding him in her hands. She felt his heartbeat under his clothes trying to match hers.

"Forgive me, my Chat..." Tears rolled on his sleeve as she finally opened her eyes to face the moon. "You were the best friend I could ever ask for. Our time together... it was also the best moment-no- the most powerful moments in my entire life."

With tears still rolling on her face, she dared to mumble the magic words that would change everything. 

"If by showing you who I truly am you'll finally find some peace, then-"

She slowly backed away; her face was lit by moonlight and it was beautiful.

_Impossible! -_

_No! --_

_Is this? -_

_Real? --_

_M'Lady-_

_My Chat--_

_You were-_

_You--_

_All this time--_

_I had-_

_You-_

_In my arms--_

_Without knowing it was you. ---_

"Marinette..." He dared to speak first shaken to the core. "My-" There weren't enough words to speak.

A million thoughts marched before Marinette making her feel every single emotion at once! She couldn't find the words to say his name.

The boy she had a crush on. The love she sacrificed that day only to make him happy. This sad boy, trapped like a lonely prince in the castle made of thorns...

That boy was Chat Noir...

"Don't look at me! Please! I- can't- this is so... cruel!" 

The whole world had just crumbled into pieces and had been rebuilt anew.

"Marinette..." He stared into her blue eyes relieved. Deep down he always wished it was her.

His voice made it worse. Every little memory, every little moment Ladybug and Chat Noir had shared...

Adrien was Chat Noir. So that meant that every moment of hers was with the one she loved.

Her dizziness only got worse as she took another look at Adrien's face.

She wasn't disappointed or sad. He was only smiling more sincerely and brightly than ever.

"Are you alright, Marinette? If this is too much I can-"

He didn't manage to finish his sentence as she grabbed his hand and placed it on her cheek, more tears rolling everywhere from the tension and pain.

"I'm sorry Adrien... I'm sorry- so sorry-It’s my fault! I-"

He couldn't take it anymore. The girl she loved was in front of him crying her heart out and he was doing nothing to stop her.

_Now..._

His palms cupped her face in an instant and he leaned towards her to offer her the only thing he could.

_A kiss..._

Marinette held to her senses. _His lips..._ She had shared moments with those lips but now it was completely different.

Adrien's lips... Chat Noir's lips... Same thing...

_Fool._

_Fool..._

_How was I so blind, my Marinette?_

_Why was I so blind...?_

She held him tighter and he was unable to move. Their lips still in sync gave them all the answers they were looking for.

_I loved you..._

_And I loved you._

_Without knowing that behind the mask..._

_Was the most precious thing I had._

_Forgive me..._

_I still love you._

_I was weak..._

_I love you._

_Don't let me fall..._

_I won't let you._

_For I have finally found myself..._

_You are my best friend and my first love._

_I love you..._

_Let me be your everything._

_Let's live..._

_Let's do everything we want._

_Together..._

_Together._

_Don't forget about me..._

_I won't._

_A life with you is the best gift I could ever get...._


End file.
